I Choo-Choo-Choose ......Your Execution (1425 hits)
Category: NewsRating: 1.93 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by TheSpook (View user info) at 2005-11-25 13:05:34 EST
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/24/chicago.train/index.html
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CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Drivers eager to get out of town for the holidays may have caused a train wreck at a crossing in suburban Chicago, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
At least 10 people were injured in Wednesday's crash, including seven who already have been treated and released. Three others were initially in critical condition, but their conditions have been upgraded, said the NTSB's Mark Rosenker.
The wreck happened during rush hour in Elmwood Park, about 10 miles west of downtown Chicago, when a Metra express train ran into five vehicles on the track, smashing them into 11 other automobiles. (Watch the aftermath -- 3:47)
The initial investigation shows that the crossing gate and safety lights were activated about a minute before the crash, and the train's engineer initiated an emergency stop "as soon as he visually saw that his grade crossing was occupied by vehicles," Rosenker said.
"Unfortunately," Rosenker added, "there was nothing he could do."
The train was moving at about 70 mph (113 kph) -- the legal speed limit on the track -- and the engineer applied the brakes about 450 feet before the crash, but the train slowed to only about 65 mph (105 kph) before it reached the cars. (Watch Metra's reaction to the accident -- 5:27)
The normal rush-hour traffic, combined with the rush to get out of town for Thanksgiving, may have led to the wreck, Rosenker said, calling the idea of staying on the tracks with the crossing gate down "a recipe for disaster."
To drivers on the tracks, Rosenker issued an admonition: "You shouldn't be there."
About 26,300 vehicles cross the track at the crash location daily, and Rosenker said that drivers who routinely cross the tracks there may have thought they could beat the train.
"Last night was different -- different because of the extremely crowded road, perhaps because of the Thanksgiving holiday, perhaps people weren't focusing, perhaps they were thinking about a Thanksgiving dinner with their family," Rosenker said. "We were very, very lucky last night. People could have died."
Rosenker said investigators plan to interview the train's crew and witnesses, as well as study the crossing, highway factors and the railroad signals.
Since 1976, he said, there have been 26 wrecks at the crossing, including two fatalities in 1983 and 1997.
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Who the fuck parks their car on the train tracks? Idiots, that's who. This unbelievable tale of tragedy and stupidity is only made worse by the fact that all of these people still remain living. They should've ran another train by just to finish the job. What would compel someone to lose all rational thought and ignore the crossing signals and the huge sign that reads: "DON'T STOP ON THE FUCKING TRACKS, ASSHOLE"? Or something to that effect. Do we really need to put up barriers at every damn railroad crossing?
The limits we have to go through in this country to protect people from themselves is just unacceptable. Everyday I witness people ignoring warnings and signs posted everywhere. Every damn day I have to meander through throngs of drivers who ignore completely obvious signs that warn them of what the future brings. I hate having to scream: "THE LANE FUCKING ENDS!" or "GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE, COCKSUCKER!" I don't consider myself the best driver in the world, though I am close, but I can figure out what the hell is going on even while jerking off behind (and onto) the wheel. Believe it or not, it's relatively simple to drive.
The problem lies within the select few who ruin it for the rest of us. The stupid Mexican with his 1985 S-10 overfilled with uncovered screws and nails, the ass-dragging Cadillac with his left turn signal on crawling down the freeway without a care, that woman that rides everyone's ass constantly for no reason at all, and the ghetto kid with the Civic ala coffee can muffler belching black smoke switching 4 lanes at a time.
The moral: Don't protect people from their death because they probably deserve it anyway.
User Reviews
Submitted by homer42 (user info) at 2007-01-25 16:37:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by The_Cyst_Master (user info) at 2006-04-12 12:24:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Word.
Submitted by RePet (user info) at 2005-11-28 18:39:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Dante_Alighieri (user info) at 2005-11-25 16:39:00 (#)
Ranking: 2
We shouldn't put warnings on things. Thin the herd a bit. The kid who drinks too much Drano doesn't grow up to have kids of his own.
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Oh God, yes.
+1 for the Simpsons reference and +1 for the hilarity that followed suit.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-11-28 18:30:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
The moral: Don't protect people from their death because they probably deserve it anyway.
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2005-11-26 05:09:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 random simpsons reference
Submitted by crazyaardvark (user info) at 2005-11-26 02:45:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Ever read The Darwin Arwards books? Some people just need to be taken out of the evolutionary cycle
Submitted by missedthepoint (user info) at 2005-11-25 23:56:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-11-25 20:35:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-11-25 19:01:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-11-25 17:31:28 (#)
Ranking: 2
If you can get me the permission, I'd love to be the one to finish the job.
I'll sign you up, but you have to wear the silly fucking hat or it's off.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-11-25 17:31:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
If you can get me the permission, I'd love to be the one to finish the job.
Submitted by Dante_Alighieri (user info) at 2005-11-25 16:39:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
We shouldn't put warnings on things. Thin the herd a bit. The kid who drinks too much Drano doesn't grow up to have kids of his own.
Submitted by The_taste_of_Monkeys (user info) at 2005-11-25 14:51:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Ive been saying this for YEARS! Dont put a warning sticker on things, if people are stupid enough to use a hairdryer in the shower they fucking DESERVE to die!
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:58:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:51:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I just got home from work.
Some dumb broad was changing her tire on the fucking on ramp. In the middle of the on ramp.
What the fuck?
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:51:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I just got home from work.
Some dumb broad was changing her tire on the fucking on ramp. In the middle of the on ramp.
What the fuck?
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:39:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Why is there always someone raising the bar of stupidity? Will it ever stop?
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:35:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
P
F
2
Submitted by Zoidberg (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:34:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Have you ever seen the Defensive Driving video about not parking on the train tracks?
It is fucking hilarious. Our entire class was screaming with laughter as a poorly acted family of 3 died on the tracks.
Submitted by The_Yellow_Dart (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:12:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I want to drive a train when I grow up.
Weird about your moral of the story there, the way you worded it made it very related to the post I just made: http://www.ubersite.com/m/79823
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2005-11-25 13:08:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Maybe you can beat the train.
Maybe you're DEAD wrong.